TELEVISION: Zorro headed to the small screen

by Stephen Schleicher

USA Network is considering taking the legend of Zorro and turn it into a television series.

Simply titled Z, the tale will update the swashbuckler to modern day Los Angeles, as it follows Diego Moreno, and orphaned teen raising his sister to a hero fighting to save the city. That seems totally different from the real origin of Zorro, a well to do land owner who uses his wealth to right the wrongs of the underclass.

Based on the script alone, USA Network will decide if it wants to turn this into a full series or not – in other words, there is no pilot planned for Z. I’m pretty opened minded, but hopefully the network will give this a pass, or at least recommendations to give the premise a heavy retooling.

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Stephen Schleicher began his career writing for the Digital Media Online community of sites, including Digital Producer and Creative Mac covering all aspects of the digital content creation industry. He then moved on to consumer technology, and began the Coolness Roundup podcast. A writing fool, Stephen has freelanced for Sci-Fi Channel's Technology Blog, and Gizmodo. Still longing for the good ol' days, Stephen launched Major Spoilers in July 2006, because he is a glutton for punishment.

Why give it a pass? I wouldn’t recommend setting it LA, but a modern retelling of Zoro set against the backdrop of the current drug wars in northern Mexico could be quite compelling. In that case, a more working class background for Zoro makes sense–so long as the hero’s proficiency with a rapier is adequately explained.